Ironing machine



x.. E. scHRADER :TAL 2,956,356

IRONING MACHINE Oct. 18, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 18, 1958 Oct.18, 1960 1 E. scHRADER ETAL 2,956,356

IRONING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 18, 1958 Oct. 18, 1960 L. E.SCHRADER ETAL 2,955,356

IRONING MACHINE Filed June 18, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Oct. 18, 1960 l..E. scHRADER Erm. 2,956,356

IRONING 4nlmcmtrna Filed June 18, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 armi/s1 Oct. 18,1960 l.. E. SCHRADER x-:TAL 2,956,356

IRONING MACHINE Filed June 18, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 I VENTO 6. 07677276e fd e7.

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United States Patent Oice 2,956,356 Patented Oct. 1S, 1960 IRONIN GMCHINE Loren E. Schrader, Mount Clemens, and Le Roy C. Campbell,Goodells, Mich., assignors to Ironrite, Inc., Mount Clemens, Mich., acorporation of Michigan Filed June 18, 1958, Ser. No. 742,897

15 Claims. (Cl. 3859) This invention .relates generally to ironers andmore particularly to -an ironer having a hand operable control for theironer roll so that the ironer is `adapted to be constructed in a smallportable form.

Conventional ironers include an integral supporting frame proportionedso that the ironer operator can sit on a chair while operating theironer. These ironers include a knee control for the roll so that theoperators hands are free to manipulate .the Varticles being ironed. Byactuating the knee control, the operator controls the position of theroll so that it is either against the stationary ironer shoe or spacedfrom the shoe as desired lduring 'the ironing operation. The smallportable ironer of this invention is adapted to be positioned on anysuitable support, such as -a table, a top of an automatic washer, or thelike when it is used, and is provided with a hand control for the rollwhich is accessible in any supported position of the ironer.

The principal object of this invention, therefore, is to provide animproved ironer.

A further object of this invention is to provide an ironer with a handoperable control for the ironer roll which is positioned adjacent thefeedboard on the ironer so that it is readily operable by the operato-rwhen feed- .ing articles to be ironed across the feedboard.

A further object of this invention is to provide a simple and economicalclutch assembly for an ironer.

Further objects, Ifea-tures and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent from a consideration of the following description, the appendedclaims `and the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the ironing machine of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the ironing machine of thisinvention, with some parts broken away and other parts shown in sectionffor the purpose of clarity.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View looking substantially along the line 3-3 inFig. 2;

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are fragmentary sectional views looking substantiallyalong the lines 4 4, 5--5, and 6 6, respectively, in Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view of an ironing machineprovided with a modified clutch control mechanism, with some partsbroken away and other parts shown n section -for the purpose of clarity;

Figs. 8, 9 and lO are fragmentary side elevational views, illustratedsimilarly to Figs. 2 and 7, of other modified forms of the clutchcontrol mechanism in the ironing machine of this invention;

Fig. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of the feedboard in an ironingmachine having another modified form of clutch control mechanism.

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view looking along theline 12-12 in Fig. 11; and

Figs. 13 and 14 are fragmentary side views of portions of ironingmachines provided with two other modified forms of the clutch controlmechanism of this invention.

With reference to the drawing, the ironer of this invention, indicatedgenerally at 16, is illustrated in Fig. l as including a supportingframe 12 having a front side 16 and la rear side 18 and provided with areinforcing channel 14 (Fig. 2) which extends between the sides 16 and18. An upright shoe support bracket 20, which forms part of the frame12, is mounted on the front end of the channel 14 and at its upper endcarries an irregularly shaped shoe supporting plate 22. An ironing shoe24 is secured to the plate 22 and is heated by means of heating elements(not shown) disposed between the shoe 24 and .the plate 22.

An ironer roll 26 supported on the upper ends of a pair of upwardlyinclined `arms 28 lis movable into engagement with the shoe 24 duringironing and is movable to a position spaced from the shoe duringmanipulation and removal of an article being ironed. The arms 28 areconnected at their lower ends .by -a tube 30 which is rotatablysupported in an Iupstanding gear housing 32 mounted on rthe frame 12 atthe rear end of the channel 14. A shaft 34 :rotatably supported inthetube 30 drives a gear train 36 -in one of the arms 28 which drives theroll 26.

A motor 38 is secured to one side of the housing 32 and has a horizontaldrive shaft 40 forme-d at its terminal end as a gear 42. Speed reducinggears 44 and 46 mesh with .the gear 42 and -a gear 4S, respectively,which is splined on a `tubular gear member 50 supported on `a shaft 52that extends across the gear housing 32. The tubular gear member 50 hasteeth 54 on one end which mesh with Va rst idler gear 56 which in turnmeshes with a second idlerV gear 58 that `drives a gear 60 secured ltothe shaft 34 in the tube 30. Consequently, on rotation of the tubulargear member 50, the shaft 34 is driven to drive the gear train 36 andprovide for rotation of the roll 26.

The opposite end of the tubular member 51) has teeth 62 and functions as`a sun gear in a planetary gear mechanism, as will more clearly appearhereinafter. The sun ygear meshes with three planet gears 64 which inturn mesh with teeth 67 formed on the inner side of a ring gear 68. Thering gear 68 is concentric with the shaft 52 and is lformed on its`outer side with teeth 70. The gears 64 are rotatably supported onshafts 66 secured to a planet carrier 72 which is rotatably supported onthe shaft 52 and carries an eccentric cam 74 for a purpose to appear.presentlyA As shown in Fig. 2, the cam 74 engages the underside of oneend of a pressure spring -assembly 76, the opposite end of which extendsdiametrically through and is secured to the tube 36. A coil spring 78(Fig. 3) extends between one side of the gear housing 32 `and a pin 80on the tube 30 for urging the tube 30 in a direction such that thepressure spring assembly 76 is continually urged into resilientengagement with the cam 74 which is shaped so 4that when the high sidethereof engages the pressure` spring assembly 76, as shown in lFig. 2,the roll 26 is resiliently engaged with the ironing shoe 24. When thespring assembly 76 is moved into engagement with the lowside of the cam74, .the roll 26 is spaced from the shoe 24.

The sun gear, the planet gears 64, the ring gear 68, and the planetcarrier 72 constitute a clutch assembly, designated generally by thenumeral 82, for selectively transmitting power from the motor 38 to thecarrier 72 for rotating the cam 74. An actuating fork or yoke 84 for theVclutch assembly 82 is secured to one end of a shaft 86 journaled in thehousing 32. The opposite end of the shaft 86 is positioned in a recess88 in the outer side of the housing 32 and is secured to the upper endof a depending clutch operating arm 90. The actuating fork 84 has a pairof diverging legs or holding members 92 and 100 which extend upwardly onopposite sides of the carrier 72. The leg 92 is formed at its terminalend with an inwardly directed tooth or projection 94 which is adapted totit into either one of a pair of complementary shaped notches 96 formedin diametrically opposite portions of the carrier 72. The periphery ofthe carrier 72 is attened adjacent one side of each notch 96, asindicatedV at 98 so that the notchis of a reduced depth at that side fora purpose to appear later.

The other leg 100 of the actuating fork 84 has a laterally offsetterminal end portion 102 formed with a pair of inwardly directed teeth104 positioned so that they are movable into meshing engagement with theteeth 70 on the outer side of the ring gear 68. Y

A spring 106 extends between the lower end of the arm 90 Vand the frame12 for resiliently urging the fork 84 into `a position in which thetooth 94 on the um 92 extends into anotch 96 in the carrier 72.Consequently, the carrier 72 is normally held in one of two stationarypositions by the'fork 84. The notches 96 are located so that positionsof the carrier 72 corresponding to positions of the tooth 94 in thenotches 96 correspond to positions of the roll V26 in engagement withand spaced from the shoe 24. Since the gear member Si? is beingconstantly rotated by the motor 38 when the ironer is in use, the planetgears 64 are normally rotating the ring gear 68. When the actuating fork84 is rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figs. 4 and v5, thetooth 94 is withdrawn from a notch 96 so that the carrier 72 is releasedand the teeth 104 are moved into meshing engagement with the teeth 7G onthe ring gear 68 so that the ring gear 68 is held in a stationaryposition.

As-soon as movement of the ring gear 68 is restrained, the tubular gearmember 50 drives the planet gears 64 around the ring gear 68 so that theplanet carrier 72 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction as viewedin Fig. 4. During rotation of the planet carrier 72 through an angle ofapproximately 180, the tooth 94 rides on the periphery of the carrier 72which is of a diameter such that the leg 100 is maintained in a positionin which the teeth 104 engage the teeth 70 on the ring gear 68.Consequently, restraining of the ring gear 68 is insured until thecarrier 72 is rotated to a position in which the other notch 96 isopposite the tooth 94, at which time the tooth 94 is moved into thenotch 96 by the spring 106.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the clutch operating arm 90is actuated by a control pad 110, is pivotally supported intermediateits ends on pins 112 carried by a bracket 114 secured to theshoe-supporting plate 22. The bracket 114 also supports a conventionalfeed board 116 positioned adjacent the shoe 24 for guiding articles tobe ironed into a position between the shoe 24 and the roll 26. Theironing machine operator normally positions her hands at opposite endsof the feedboard 116 and from these positions manipulates the articlesbeing ironed as they are fed across the feedboard 116 onto the shoe 24.

The actuating pad 110 extends longitudinally of the feedboard 116 (Fig.l) and is positioned adjacent the underside of the feedboard 116 so thatit is readily operable by the operator with either hand. On upwardswinging movement of the outer end of the pad 110, or in other words, onsqueezing of the pad 110 and the feedboard 116, an upright rod 118pivotally connected to the inner end of the pad 110 is moved downwardlyso that it rotates a bellcrank 120 pivotally supported on the channel 14and connected to the lower end of the rod 118. Rotation ofthe bellcrank120 results in movement of a second rod 122 connected thereto towardythe left as viewed in Fig. 2 to thereby rotate the arm 90, which isconnected to the opposite end of the rod 122, in a direction opposite tothe pull of the spring 106.

In the operation of the ironing machine 10, assume that `the cam 74 isin the position shown in Fig. 2, so that the roll Y26 is rotating and ispositioned against the stationary shoe 24. Further assume that theoperator is feeding an article to be ironed between the roll 26 and theshoe 24. When the operator Wants to remove the article, or for any otherreason wants to raise the roll 26, she manually lifts the outer end ofthe actuating pad 1'10 and then immediately releases the pad.

In response to lifting of the pad 110, the arm 90 is rotated in aclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2, against the action of theSpring 106, to in turn provide for a clockwise rotation of the actuatingfork 84 as Viewed in Figs. 4 and 5. The tooth 94 is withdrawn from anotch 96 in the carrier 72 and the teeth 104 are moved into engagementwith the teeth 70 on the ring gear 68 so that rotation of the ring gearis immediately stopped and rotation of the carrier 72 in acounterclockwise direction -as viewed in Fig. 4 begins immediately. Thetooth 94 rides on the periphery of the carrier 72, during rotation ofthe carrier, to thereby/'maintain the teeth 104 in engagement with thering gear teeth 70 to insure continued rotation of the carrier 72.

The formation of the carrier 72 with the Hat surfaces 98 makes actuationof the clutch assembly 82 possible in response to only slight movementof pad 110. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, only slight movement of the fork84 is required to lift the tooth 94 out of the notch 96 to the level ofthe adjacent surface 98 and to engage the teeth 104 and 70. The surface98 then functions like a cam and moves the fork 84 further in aclockwise direction to fully engage the teeth 104 and 7 0.

When the carrier 72 has rotated through an angle of approximately 180,the cam 74 secured thereto has also been rotated through an angle of 180so that the pressure springs 76 have been moved into engagement with thelow side of the carn 74 and the roll 26 is raised off the shoe 24. Atsuch time, the tooth 94 is moved into the other notch 96 by the spring106, so that further rotation of the carrier 72 and the cam 74 ispositively restrained. At such time the ring gear 68 is released forfurther rotation.

When the operator wants to move the roll 26 against the shoe 24, shemerely repeats the operation of moving the outer end of the pad "110toward the feedboard 116V and immediately releasing the pad 110 so thatthe carrier 72 and the cam 74 are rotated through another angle of 180.

It is seen, therefore, that whenever movement of the roll 26 is desired,it is only necessary to actuate the pad which is convenientlyrlocatedwith respect to the op erators hands. Since the feedboard 116 is of arelatively short length, by virtue of the portable construction of theironer 10, the pad 110 is readily formed so that it extends nearly thefull length of the feedboard 116 so that the operators hands are alwaysiu a convenient location for operating the pad 110. In one embodiment ofthe invention, the roll 26 is only 12 inches long.

In a modified form of the clutch operating mechanism of this inventionillustrated in Fig. 7, an actuating pad 110a,like the pad 110, ispivotally supported at its inner end on pins carried by a bracket 132connected to the shoe-supporting plate 22. Intermediate its ends, thepad 110:1 is connected to one end or" a cable which is trained about apair of spacedV pulleys 136 on the channel 14 and is clamped to theshaft 86 by a bolt 138. The cable 134 is attached at itsl opposite end140 to a spring I142 secured to theframe 12. The spring 142 acts to urgethe shaft 86 in a countercloekwise direction as viewed in Fig. 7 so thatit performs the same function as the spring 106 in the preferred form ofthe inventionshown in Fig. 2.

' To operate the clutch operating mechanism shown in Fig.,7, theoperator liftsupwardly on the outer end of the; pad 110a to thus rotatethe shaft 86 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 7 to in turnrotate the clutch actuating fork 84 in a clockwise direction. On releaseof the pad 111m, the spring 14@ returns the pad to a stop position inengagement with ears 144 on the bracket 132. In this position of the pad11041, the spring 142 also urges the tooth 94 in a direction toward thecarrier 72 so that it will be moved into the next notch 96 which ismoved to a position opposite the tooth 94.

In the modified form of the clutch operating mechanism shown in Fig. 8,a lever member 150 is pivoted intermediate its ends on a horizontalpivot member 152 carried by the shoe-supporting bracket 20 which forms apart of the main frame 12. The lower end of the lever 150 is connectedto one end of a rod 154 which is connected at its opposite end to thelower end of the arm 90. At its upper end, the lever 150 is formed witha forwardly extending portion 156 which is disposed adjacent theunderside of the eedboard 116. The terminal end 158 of the portion 156functions as an operating pad and extends longitudinally of thefeedboard 116 in addition to projecting forwardly of the feedboard 116so that it is readily operable by the ironing machine operator. Onmovement of the end 158 of the lever 1513 in the direction indicated bythe arrow 166, the arm 90 is rotated in a clockwise direction to in turnoperate the clutch actuating fork 84. On release of the lever 150, thespring 1436 provides for its automatic return to the position shown inFig. 8.

In the modied form of the clutch operating mechanism shown in Fig. 9,the feedboard, indicated at 116a, is pivotally supported at its innerend on pivots 162 carried by a bracket 164 secured to theshoe-supporting plate 22. A rod 166 is connected at its upper end to anintermediate portion of the feedboard 116a and at its lower end isconnected at its lower end to one leg of a bellcrank 168, the oppositeleg of which is connected to a rod 170 which is in turn connected to thearm 98. On upward swinging movement of the feedboard 116a, the bellcrank168 is rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 9 to in turnmove the rod 178 so that the arm 99 is rotated in a clockwise directionto provide for the desired movement of the actuating fork 84. The spring106 provides for return ofthe arm 96.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 10, abellcrank operating rod 118a, like the rod 118 shown in Fig. 2, isconnected at its upper end to a pad 120 which extends longitudinally ofthe feedboard 116 and projects upwardly through a slot 122 in thefeedboard 116. The pad 12@ is pivotally supported on pins 124 carried bythe eedboard 116. To operate the clutch operating mechanism shown inFig. l0, it is only necessary to manually depress the pad 120 which, byvirtue of the fact that it extends through a slot 122 in the eedboard116 is readily accessible to the ironing machine operator.

In the modied form of the clutch operating mechanism shown in Figs. lland l2, the ironing machine feedboard 116b is formed of a molded plasticand is provided with depending bosses 170 in which a pair of horizontalpins 172, provided with heads 182, are slidably supported. At its innerend, each pin 172 is pivotally connected to one end of a link 174, theopposite end of which is guidably supported in a slot 176 formed in aplate 178 which is rotatably supported on a pin 180 carried by theshoe-supporting plate 22. At a position spaced from the pin 185, theplate 178 is pivotally connected to a bellcrank operating rod 166a whichis connected at its lower end to a bellcrank like the one shown at 168in Fig. 9. To operate the mechanism shown in Figs. 1l and l2, theoperator moves one of the pins 172 inwardly of the feedboard 116i). Thismovement of a pin 172 moves the corresponding link 174 in a direction torotate the plate 17 8 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig.11 to in turn lift the rod 166:1 and rotate the bellcrank 168 in adirection to rotate the arm 90.

In the modified form of the clutch operating mechanism shown in Fig. 13,a bellcrank operating rod 118b,

like the rod 1.18 shown in Fig. 2, is connected at its upper end to oneleg of a bellcrank 190 rotatably supported on the shoe-supportingbracket 2i). The other leg of the bellcrank 19d is pivotally connectedto the inner end of an operating pad 192 which is slidably supportedintermediate its ends on a downturned flange 194 at the outer side ofthe eedboard 116. On movement of the pad 192 inwardly of the feedboard116, in the direction of the arrow 196, the bellcrank 190 is rotated tomove the lrod 11811 downwardly to rotate the arm in a clockwisedirection.

In the modied form of the invention, illustrated in Fig. 14, thefeedboard 116C is pivotally supported at its inner end on the bracket164 as in the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 9. A rod 198which is pivotally connected at its upper end to an intermediate portionof the feedboard 116C is pivotally connected at its lower end to abellcrank like the one shown at in Fig. 2. Consequently, on downwardmovement of the eedboard 116C, the arm 90 is rotated in the desireddirection for actuating the clutch assembly 82.

In all of the above described forms of the operating mechanism for theclutch assembly 82, the operating pad is either disposed adjacent theeedboard for the ironer or the feedboard itself is movably mounted foroperating the clutch assembly 82. Consequently, the clutch assembly canat all times be quickly operated by the ironing machine operator who hasher hands located adjacent the ironing machine eedboard for manipulatingthe articles to be ironed. By virtue of the construction of the clutchassembly 82 with the control ring gear 68 and the planet carrier 72, itis produced economically and is adapted for operation by merelyactuating the operating pad.

it will be understood that the specic constructions of the improvedironing machine herein disclosed and described is presented for purposesof explanation and illustration and is not intended to indicate limitsof the invention, the scope of which is defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an ironing machine having a frame, a stationary shoe mounted onsaid frame, a rotatable roll mounted on said frame for movement betweena position in engagement with the shoe and a position spaced from theshoe, a feedboard positioned adjacent the shoe for supporting materialto be fed between the roll and shoe for ironing, a rotatable cam mountedon said frame, pressure springs connected to the roll and positioned inengagement with said cam for moving the roll between said positions inresponse to rotation of said cam between a pair of correspondingpositions, power means for rotating said cam and clutch means interposedbetween said power means and said cam to provide for rotation of the camfrom one position to the other only in response to actuation of theclutch means; clutch actuating means mounted on and accessible from aside edge of said feedboard for movement relative thereto, and meansconnecting said clutch actuating means to said clutch means.

2. in an ironing machine having a frame, a stationary shoe mounted onsaid frame, a rotatable roll mounted on said frame for movement betweena position in engagement with the shoe and a position spaced from theshoe, a feedboard positioned adjacent the shoe for supporting materialto be fed between the roll and shoe for ironing, a rotatable cam mountedon said frame, pressure springs connected to the roll and positioned inengagement with said cam for moving the roll between said positions inresponse to rotation of said cam between a pair of correspondingpositions, power means for rotating said cam and clutch means interposedbetween said power means and said cam to provide for rotation of the camfrom one position to the other only in response to actuation of theclutch means; clutch actuating means pivotally mounted on and accessiblefrom a side edge of said feed-board for movement relative thereto, andmeans connecting said clutch actuating means to said clutch means.

3. In an ironing machine having a frame, a stationary shoe mounted onsaid frame, a rotatable roll mounted on said frame for movement betweena position in engagement with the shoe and a position spaced from theshoe, a feedboard positioned adjacent the shoe for supporting materialto be fed between the roll and shoe for ironing, a rotatable cam mountedon said frame, pressure springs connected to the roll and positioned inengagement with said cam for moving the roll between said positions inresponse to rotation of said cam between a pair of correspondingpositions, power means for rotating said cam and clutch means interposedbetween said power means and said earn to provide for rotation of thecam from'one position to the other on actuation of the clutch means;lever means mounted on said frame andV having one end thereof locatedadjacent and accessible from a side edge of said feedboard for manualoperation to rotate said lever means, and means connecting said levermeans to said clutch means to provide for actuation of the clutch meansin response to rotation of the lever means.

4. ln an ironing machine having a frame, a stationary shoe mounted onsaid frame, Va rotatable roll mounted on said frame for movement betweena position in engagement with the shoe and a position spaced from theshoe, a feedboard positioned adjacent the shoe for supporting thematerial to be fed between the roll and the shoe for ironing, arotatable cam mounted on said frame, pressure springs connected to theroll and positioned in engagement with the cam for moving the rollbetween said positions in response to rotation of said cam between apair of corresponding positions, continuously rotatable gear meansmounted on said frame, and means including a gear train connecting saidroll and gear means for rotating the roll; clutch means interposedbetween said gear means and said cam to provide for selective rotationof the cam between said positions, said clutch means comprising a sungear driven by said gear means a planet gear arranged in meshingengagement with said sun gear, a planet carrier rotatably mounted onsaid frame and connected to said cam for rotating the cam, a ring gearconcentric with said sun gear and positioned in mesh with said planetgear, and means for selectively restraining said ring gear and saidcarrier so that said cam is selectively rotatable.

5. In an ironer, a clutch mechanism comprising a shaft, a continuouslyrotatable sun gear mounted on said shaft, a planet gear positioned inmesh with said sun gear, a ring gear concentric with said sun gear andmeshing with said planet gear, a carrier for the planet gear mounted onsaid shaft, and means movable in one direction to a position restrainingthe ring gear against movement so that said planet gear drives saidcarrier and in an opposite direction to a position restraining thecarrier to prevent rotation thereof.

6. In an ironer having a shoe, a roll movable between a position inengagement with said shoe and a position spaced from said shoe, cammeans operatively associated with said roll for moving the roll betweensaid positions, and a `drive shaft for rotating the roll; a shaft, gearmeans on said` shaft, idler gearsV extending between said gear means andsaid drive shaft for driving the drive shaft, means for continuouslyrotating said gear means, and clutch means including a planet gearpositioned in mesh with said gear means, a ring gear concentric withsaid gear means and meshing with said planet gear and a carrier for saidplanet gear connected to said cam means for driving the cam means, andmeans for selectively restraining the carrier or the ring gear toprovide for selective rotation of the cam means.

'In an ironing machine having a frame, a stationary shoe mounted on saidframe, a rotatable roll mounted on said frame for movement between aposition in engagement with the shoe and a position spaced from theshoe, a feedboard positioned adjacent the shoe for supporting materialto be fed between the roll and shoe for ironing, a rotatable cam mountedon said frame, pressure springs connected to the roll and positioned inengagement with said cam for moving the roll between said positions inresponse to rotation of said cam between a pair of correspondingpositions, power means for rotating said cam and clutch means interposedbetween said power means and said cam to provide for rotation of the camfrom one position tothe other only in response to actuation of theclutch means; clutch actuating means pivotally mounted on said feedboardfor movement relative thereto, and cable and pulley means connectingsaid clutch actuating means to said clutch means.

8. In an ironing machine having a frame, a stationary shoe mounted onsaid frame, a rotatable roll mounted on said frame for movement betweena position in engage* ment with the shoe and a position spaced from theshoe, `a rotatable cam mounted on said frame, pressure springs connectedto the roll and positioned in engagement with said cam for moving Vtheroll between said positions in response to rotation of said cam betweena pair of corresponding positions, power means for rotating said cam andclutch means interposed between said power means and said cam to providefor rotation of the cam rom one position to the other on actuation ofthe clutch means; a feedboard member movably mounted on said frame andpositioned adjacent said shoe, and means connecting said feedboardmember and said clutch means so that the clutch means is actuated inresponse to movement of said feedboard member.

9. In an ironing machine having a frame, a stationary shoe mounted onsaid frame, a rotatable roll mounted on said frame for movement betweena position in engagement with the shoe and a position spaced from theshoe, a feedboard positioned adjacent the shoe for supporting materialto be fed between the roll and shoe `for ironing, a rotatable cammounted on said frame, pressure springs connected to the roll andpositioned in engagement with said cam for moving the roll between saidpositions in response to rotation of said cam between a pair ofcorresponding positions, power means for rotating said cam and clutchmeans interposed between said power means and said cam to provide forrotation of the cam from one position to the other only in response toactuation of the clutch means; clutch actuating means pivotally mountedon and extending through said feedboard for movement relative thereto,and means connecting said clutch actuating means to said clutch means.

l0. In an ironer having a frame, a shoe and a rotatable roll mounted onthe frame for relative movement between a first position engaged witheach other and a second position spaced from each other, a clutchmechanism comprising a shaft, a continuously rotatable sun gear mountedon said shaft, a planet gear positioned in mesh with said sun gear, aring gear concentric with said sun gear and meshing with said planetgear, a carrier for the planet gear mounted on said shaft, and -meansmovable in one direction to a position restraining the ring gear againstmovement so that said planet gear drives said carrier and in an oppositedirection to a position restraining the carrier to prevent rotationthereof and maintain the carrier in a predetermined positioncorresponding to predetermined relative positions of said roll and shoe.

l1. ln an ironing machine having a frame, a stationary shoe mounted onsaid frame, a lrotatable roll mounted on said frame for moveA lentbetween a positionV in engagement with the shoe and a position spacedfrom the shoe, a feedboard positioned adjacent the shoe for supportingthe material to be fed between the roll and the shoe for ironing, arotatable cam mounted on said frame, pressure springs connected to theroll and positioned in engagement with the cam for moving the rollbetween said positions in response to rotation of said cam between apair of corresponding positions, continuously rotatable gear meansmounted on said frame, and means including a gear train connecting saidroll and gear means for rotating -the roll; clutch m-z'ins interposedbetween said gear means and said cam to provide for selective rotationof the cam between said positions, said clutch means comprising a sun`gear driven by said gear means, a planet gear arranged in meshingengagement with said sun gear, a planet carrier rotatably mounted onsaid frame and connected to said cam for rotating the cam, a ring gearconcentric with said sun gear and positioned in mesh with said planetgear, and a clutch actuating fork rotatably mounted adjacent said clutchmeans and provided with a pair of ldiverging legs, one of said legsbeing movable into restraining engagement with said carrier on rotationof the fork in one direction and the other one of said legs beingmovable into restraining engagement with said ring gear on rotation ofthe fork in an opposite direction.

12. In an ironing machine having a frame, a stationary shoe mounted onsaid frame, a rotatable roll mounted on said frame for movement betweena position in engagement with the shoe and a position spaced from theshoe, a feedboard positioned adjacent the shoe for supporting thematerial to be fed between the roll and the shoe for ironing, arotatable cam mounted on said frame, pressure springs connected to theroll and positioned in engagement with the cam for moving the yrollbetween said positions in response to rotation of said cam between apair of corresponding positions, continuously rotatable gear meansmounted on said frame, and means including a `gear train connecting saidroll and gear means for rotating the roll; clutch means interposedbetween said gear means and said cam to provide for selective 4rotationof the cam between said positions, said clutch means comprising a sungear driven by said gear means, a planet gear arranged in meshingenga-gement with said sun gear, a planet carrier rotatably mounted onsaid frame and connected to said cam for rotating the cam, -said carrierbeing formed with notches in diametrically opposite portions thereof andhaving cam surfaces extending from said notches in the direction ofrotation of said carrier, a ring gear concentric with said sun gear andpositioned in mesh with said planet gear, a clutch actuating forkrotatably mounted adjacent said clutch means and provided with a pair ofdiverging legs, one of said legs having a tooth movable into one of saidnotches on rotation of said fork in one direction, said tooth beingengageable with the cam surface adjacent said notch on rotation of thefork in the opposite direction to initially engage the other leg thereofwith said ring gear, said cam surface being shaped to further rotatesaid fork in said opposite direction for fully engaging said other legwith said ring gear.

13. In an ironing machine having a frame, a shoe and a rotatable rollmounted on the frame for relative movement between a rst positionengaged with each other and a second position spaced from each other,means including a rotatable member mounted on said frame and a holdingmember mounted adjacent said rotatable member for movement toward andaway from the rotatable member and into engagement therewith foreffecting movement of said roll and shoe between said positions,coacting means on said holding member and on angularly spaced portionsof said rotatable member defining stop positions of said rotatablemember corresponding to said first land second roll and shoe positions,and means for rotating said rotatable member.

14. In an ironing machine having a frame, a shoe and a rotatable rollmounted on the frame for relative movement between a first positionengaged with each other and a second position spaced from eac-h other,means for rotating said roll, means including a rotatable member mountedon said frame and a holding member mounted adjacent said rotatablemember for movement toward and away from the rotatable member and intoengagement -therewith for effecting movement of said roll and shoeIbetween said positions, said rotatable member being arranged so that itis drivable by said roll rotating means, and coacting means on saidholding member and on angularly spaced portions of said rotatable memberdefining stop positions of said rotatable member corresponding to said.first and second roll and shoe positions.

15. An ironing device comprising in combination a rotatable roll memberand a shoe member, at least one of said roll member and said shoe memberbeing movable relative to t-he other to positions in which said roll andsaid shoe are engaged and disengaged, actuatable means attached to saidmovable member for -moving said movable member toward and away from saidother member and for resiliently biasing said members together duringengagement, actuating means movably connected to said actuatable meanseiective to cause said actuatable means to move said movable memberrelative to said other member, said actuating means comprising cam meansattached to said actuatable means, a planet gear attached to said cammeans for rotating same, a sun gear and a ring gear concentric therewithdrivingly connected by said planet gear, means for driving said sungear, control means -associated with said cam means and said ring gearoperable to restrain rotation of said ring gear to thereby effectrotation of said cam means during the period of said ring gear restraintand operable to restrain rotation of said cam means to thereby drivesaid ring gear during the period of said cam means restraint.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,706,109 Dodge Mar. 19, 1929 1,815,345 Colman July 21, 1931 2,192,186Dunham Mar. 5, 1940 2,260,799 Bush Oct. 28, 1941 2,349,014 Sperlich May16, 1944 2,583,685 Davis Ian. 29, 1952 2,711,600 Sperlich June 28, 1955

